Nothing, however, can be more absurd than this whole doctrine of the balance of trade, upon which, not only these restraints, but almost all the other regulations of commerce are founded. But that trade which, without force or constraint, is naturally and regularly carried on between any two places is always advantageous, though not always equally so, to both. A trade which is forced by means of bounties and monopolies may be and commonly is disadvantageous to the country in whose favor it is meant to be established. When two places trade with one another, this doctrine supposes that, if the balance be even, neither of them either loses or gains; but if it leans in any degree to one side, that one of them loses and the other gains in proportion to its deviation from the exact equilibrium. Both suppositions are false.

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The net trade balance stood at minus 290 billion naira ($953 million) for all of 2016. But exports more than compensated for that rise, jumping 53.5 percent in value terms from a year earlier to 2.98 trillion naira, the statistics bureau said. The balance of trade for the fourth quarter was 671 billion naira. Fourth-quarter imports rose 46.4 percent from the previous year to 2.31 trillion naira ($7.6 billion), the statistics bureau said. LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s trade balance turned positive in the fourth quarter of 2016 after exports rose by more than half, the national bureau of statistics said on Saturday, the first positive reading since the same quarter a year ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist tone will likely hand China significant soft power on trade deals, economists said. Swonk wasn’t alone in pointing to the Trump administration ramping up trade tensions as benefiting China. Diane Swonk, CEO of DS Economics, told CNBC’s “The Rundown” on Friday that while she didn’t expect the U.S. would label China a currency manipulator, she foresaw more trade tensions. “That’s going to change the equation for China and the balance of power on trade relative to the U.S. if we really pursue these bilateral agreements.” In fact, China’s policymakers have appeared to be supporting their currency in recent months, not trying to push it lower.